Politics
WATCH: Trump ‘Crushes’ French President Emmanuel Macron In Viral Handshake Moment
President Donald Trump’s extra firm handshake with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, went viral on Monday as world leaders gathered in Egypt to commemorate the historic peace agreement in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
After meeting with families of the living hostages who were abducted by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, and receiving a standing ovation from Israeli lawmakers, President Trump immediately hopped aboard Air Force One and traveled to Egypt in order to meet with world leaders.
Several regional partners — including those tasked with monitoring compliance in the ceasefire deal — were in attendance for the summit. This includes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
A number of European and senior NATO leaders were also in attendance, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several others also made the trip to Egypt. Trump shook hands with dozens of world leaders and senior officials throughout the day, but it was his interaction with French President Emmanuel Macron that drew the most attention online.
Footage of the interaction shows the two world leaders shaking hands and embracing before turning to face the cameras. Macron then repositioned his hand and appeared to be attempting to pull Trump towards him, at which point Trump continuously pulled back even harder, causing the French president to visibly wobble.
Trump continued to pull Macron back and forth, with one hand, as the two held a brief chat for about 10 seconds. The U.S. president then appeared to dismiss Macron, saying “thank you” while giving a few more pulls.
The interaction — which is the latest entry in the long-running Trump-Macron handshake saga — soon went viral online. “Donald Trump greets French President Macron with an absolute death grip of a handshake. Something tells us Macron isn’t going to enjoy this meeting very much,” remarked the Media Research Center.
“President Trump is back to dominating world leaders with his handshake,” said conservative political commentator George Behizy, while one viral post stated that Macron will “need a chiropractor” after the exchange.
